Olympus ED 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens

The extremely portable Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm F4.0-5.6 super-telephoto zoom lens weighs only one pound six ounces. Designed for the specific demands of digital photography, this extreme telephoto lens delivers 4.28x zoom power -- up to a phenomenal focal length of 300mm (600mm on a 35mm camera system). This lens incorporates three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lens elements to deliver sharp detail and contrast. With 1x magnification (35mm equivalent) tele-macro capability, the Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm offers the best of both super-telephoto and macro photography worlds. Despite its high-performance attributes, this ultra-compact model only weighs in at around half as much as its competition, making it the ideal travel lens to accompany any Four Thirds Standard digital SLR.

Olympus ED 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens Key Features

Box Contents:

ED 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 Zuiko Lens

Lens Hood LH-61E

Lens Cap LC-58C

Lens Rear Cap LR-1

Instruction Manual

Warranty Card

Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm F4.0-5.6 with Olympus E-510

Lightweight and Ultra-Compact 4.28X Super-Telephoto Zoom Lens

The Zuiko Digital ED 70-300mm F4.0-5.6 uses high-performance glass elements including ED glass and an optimized zoom range to ensure outstanding performance and portability. Packing the equivalent of 600mm telephoto power in a barrel only 5 inches long, and weighing just 22 ounces, it makes it easy to enjoy true super telephoto shooting in the field. The lens' 4.28x zoom covers a wide range of focal lengths, and offers performance equivalent to 140-600mm on a 35mm camera.

Three ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) Lens Elements

Three ED lens elements are integrated to ensure razor-sharp results across the entire zoom range by minimizing chromatic aberration that can otherwise occur at long focal lengths.

Excellent 1X Equivalent Tele-Macro Capability

Tele-macro shots from as close as 37.8 inches in manual focus mode and 47.2 inches in autofocus mode are possible across the entire breadth of the focal range, giving the photographer plenty of working space for close-ups of difficult subjects. Full macro shooting with maximum magnification of 0.5x (equivalent to 1x on a conventional 35mm camera system) is possible, while the zoom range gives the photographer control over framing and composition without the need to change position.

Circular Iris

The use of a circular iris allows the ED 70-300mm F4.0-5.6 to achieve smooth, soft, background defocusing.

Zuiko Digital lenses are designed to focus light straight into an imager's pixel wells, to fill every pixel consistently. It's optical technology that delivers an image filled from center to edge with rich, accurate color, high contrast and subtle gradation. Designed exclusively for digital photography, Zuiko Digital lenses provide a level of precision that's simply unattainable from a digital body using a traditional 35mm film lens.

The Olympus FourThirds Standard uses lenses which are just as powerful as the lenses previously developed for 35mm film camera systems despite being about half the size. Thus the focal length of the 70-300mm in the FourThirds Standard gives the same angle of view as an 80-300mm lens for a 35mm film camera. It is important to know that this is not a 2x "crop factor" -- Olympus E-System lenses are designed for this size format and have a much higher resolution than lenses designed generally for 35mm film cameras. The benefit: superb image quality but less weight to carry.

Zuiko lenses feature a near telecentric design that ensures that the light hits the photodiodes at right angles, thus avoiding the problem of blurring at the edges of the image, or corner shading, which often occurs when using lenses originally designed for 35mm film cameras. Combined with the high resolution of Olympus Zuiko Digital lenses, this lens design exploits the full potential of the digital camera image sensors. The result is clear photos with strong colors and sharp contrasts right to the edges of the image.